Kennedy launches anti-abuse program for schools

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This article was published 24/02/2012 (5356 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba is the first province to roll out a program to train staff and volunteers in schools how to spot signs a child might be a victim of abuse or bullying.

Former NHL player and co-creator of the program Sheldon Kennedy was upfront Thursday about the level of scrutiny the program aims at the shadowy world of child abuse.

“I want to make something clear,” Kennedy said. “This program is not about getting the bad guys. It’s to make the good people better. We can give ourselves the language and the confidence to do something… and we may be the only trusted adult in (a child’s) life, so we’d better know how to handle it.”

The Respect in School program is a 2 1/2-hour online tutorial through Manitoba school divisions, and the province is putting up $300,000 over the next three years to make it widely available.

A series of vignettes shows adults how to spot signs of abuse, bullying, harassment and neglect in children. The vignettes also probe beneath the stereotypes and train people in ways to approach kids in trouble and ask the right questions that won’t frighten them into silence.

Any adult in the school system can take the program through their school divisions, including administrators, teachers, teaching assistants, parents who work with after-school activities and bus drivers.

“We’re deputizing everyone,” said Kennedy, the first victim to expose Graham James, the once powerful junior hockey coach, as a predatory pedophile. James was convicted as a sex offender after Kennedy stepped forward with accounts of his own abuse.

Kennedy, in town for James’s sentencing hearing Wednesday on charges related to other junior players, remained in the city to be part of the program announcement.

A Manitoba court is expected to hand down a sentence on James next month for offences against Theoren Fleury and Todd Holt between 1983 and 1994.

Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson praised Kennedy as a fierce worker for the safety of children.

“Sheldon has been showing the bravery very few (people) can, to bring public attention to child abuse. He is a brave warrior to do the work he does,” Robinson said.

Robinson and Kennedy are old allies in this war. The pair teamed up six years ago to train adults working with kids in the sports arenas, gymnasiums and fields across Manitoba.

Now, some 25,000 adults who volunteer for organized games under Sport Manitoba, including coaches, are certified in the Respect in Sport program Kennedy co-founded with Wayne McNeil in Calgary.

More than 300,000 coaches and sport volunteers in Canada have gone through the program.

Education Minister Nancy Allan said she’s thrilled Kennedy has helped move a similar program into Manitoba schools.

“Respect in School is an important tool in creating safe environments for students,” Allan said. “I am very pleased Sheldon Kennedy will be the spokesperson for Respect in School, as he is already a champion of protecting kids in sport across Canada.”

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca